The Illness
by queenpearl
Summary: Likely caused by the events of "Contagion" Enterprise comes down with a mysterious respiratory illness that endangers her life. Stranded on an unfamiliar world, she must find a way back to Starfleet before its too late.
1. Chapter 1

_Takes place shortly after "Contagion"._

Enterprise first noticed it shortly after her arrival on Starbase 12. An irritation in her airways making it difficult to breathe. She couldn't quite understand it and that bothered her. She had Galaxy check her out.

"Well you do have some inflammation in your main esophagus." Excelsior's chief apprentice reported.

"Well, it hurts." Enterprise rasped.

"Yes, I'm sure it does." Galaxy sighed. "Which is why I'm ordering you to spend 3 weeks berthrest here at Starbase 12 on a prescription painkiller. I can keep an eye on you that way."

Enterprise's growl was cut off as she felt something snap in her throat. The growl became a groan.

"Take it easy!" Galaxy admonished her. "You've been running yourself ragged all over the Federation nonstop for the past 7 months. You need a rest."

"So you're saying I shouldn't have raced around saving your sorry asses from the threats I encountered?" Enterprise snarled.

Galaxy frowned. "I didn't mean it like that and you know it." She said.

"No, I don't think I do." Enterprise growled, in no mood to deal with Galaxy's antics.

Galaxy didn't appreciate her tone. "If that's the case then you're more of a sorry excuse for a starship than I thought." She said. "Come on." She made to nudge Enterprise into her berth but the flagship shook her off.

"You're being unreasonable Galaxy. Though I should have known you'd come to hate me. You always did love Yamato more. Of course you would blame me for not saving her." She sneered.

Galaxy's eyes narrowed into fine slits and when she spoke her tone had taken on a dangerous undercurrent. "Berth, now." She growled.

But Enterprise wasn't finished. "You can't order me around." Enterprise hissed.

Galaxy closed her eyes, trying to control her rising temper. "I think you should go." She said.

"Why? Because you're too much of a coward to face the truth." Enterprise sneered. "Yamato was the only thing that mattered to you. You didn't care about anything else. You never cared!"

Enterprise's taunt was the last straw and with a roar Galaxy lunged at her sister. The two tossed about smashing and breaking things in their fight with each other. When they broke apart, Galaxy sported a bloody nose and Enterprise a dent on the side of her head.

"Go Enterprise." The elder ship hissed. "Go and don't come back!"

"Gladly." Enterprise answered and warped away, her backwash hitting Galaxy in the face.

Enterprise pushed past her tears and accelerated. All she cared about was getting as far away from Starbase 12 as she could. At maximum warp she covered that distance quickly until it all went wrong. Enterprise found she could no longer breathe from her atmosphere and automatically her oxygen starved systems began to shut down. She'd ran right into a Briar Patch. Powerless, she was caught in the gravity of an M-class planet. All she could do was put her shields to the maximum and pray they held through her entry. The clouds parted, revealing a lush open plain below. Enterprise cried out as she impacted. The starship rolled over 2 miles before coming to a stop in an open field. Enterprise recognized it as part of a small agricultural style community. The last thing she saw before losing consciousness was a group of frightened but curious people running towards her. Then everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

Galaxy was busy mixing samples when she heard the lab doors open.

"Just got word from Risa." Excelsior said. "They reported seeing a starship making a low level pass over their planet, apparently out of control. It was Enterprise."

"Just like her to pull dangerous stunts when she's riled. Probably nothing." Galaxy snorted.

"I've tried hailing her. All channels, all frequencies. Nothing." Excelsior said.

"Probably doesn't want to talk." Galaxy snorted.

"What do I need to say to you to convey that this is concerning?!" Excelsior asked.

"I got your message." Galaxy said. "Anyway, why should I care?"

"She's your sister!" Excelsior sounded shocked. "And mine too at one point. What happened between you two anyway?"

"So you know then?"

"Know, Galaxy the whole base knows about your little sibling spat. Well, what's left of the base anyway."

Galaxy snorted and Excelsior sighed. "What happened Galaxy?" She asked again.

"She said some things to me about Yamato. Things, I didn't want to believe." Galaxy replied.

"But were true." Excelsior finished. Galaxy nodded.

"Then go find her, tell her you're sorry!" Excelsior growled.

"Enterprise has advanced pneumonia, her lung passages are severely inflamed. She should be resting in her berth not running around at max warp and she knows this." Galaxy said. "For all we know she could've crashed."

"Yes but there's still a trail we can follow and I know a ship who was the best at tracking anything. I need her again." Galaxy sighed.

"Galaxy, please..." Excelsior begged.

"Alright." She agreed. "Alright."

...

Enterprise was slow to come to as she attempted to asses how badly she was hurt. Everything ached but particularly her port nacelle. When she tried to move it shot bolts of throbbing pain throughout her body. She groaned.

"Don't try and move. You're hurt." A voice said.

"Obviously." Enterprise muttered as she settled back down. "Where am I?" She asked.

"You're on a ringed M-class planet in the Briar Patch. My name is Aishi of the Ba'ku tribe."

"Enterprise D." She groaned as she opened her eyes, blinking as they focused on the speaker, a humanoid male. "How did I get here?" She rasped.

"You fell, crashed rather. Everyone else was too afraid to approach you so I improvised. How do you like your accommodations? The juniper makes for a soft bedding."

Enterprise glanced down at the leaves insulating her from the ground. A few dug into her hull, making it itch but she didn't voice this. Instead she answered "They will do."

Aishi smiled. "That's the response I'd expect from a Federation starship." He said.

"You know of the Federation?" She asked. This primitive world in contact with Starfleet. They didn't even have proper ground transportation let alone warp drive.

Aishi gestured to her secondary hull. "I can read." He replied.

She blushed. "Right."

"Your presence here was unexpected but not unwelcome. My planet is always open to visitors." Aishi said.

"You've had visitors like be before?" She asked.

"Once we traveled the stars just as you do now. But we chose to give it up. We believed if you replace man with machine, you lose the man." Enterprise bristled. "But we respect others decisions in the matter." He added and she relaxed.

"What's the damage?" She asked.

"You have bent hull plating on your starboard saucer, both your nacelles are damaged and leaking blood. I put a temporary patch on those. You've got 4 broken ribs on your port side which explains that brace and..." He paused as she coughed, shuddering from bow to stern. "That." He finished. "Respiratory aliment?" He asked.

"Unfortunately yes. I wasn't diagnosed but I assume it's pneumonia." She replied.

"Regardless, here." He placed a steaming bowl of broth in front of her. "It's made with tansy and lavender. Should help ease your coughing at least." He said.

"Thank you." She breathed in as much of the steam as she could before drinking it. "My fleet will be looking for me. Is there any way I can contact them?" She asked.

"Not unless you find a way to leave the Briar Patch." He replied. "There's a cloud of metaphasic radiation that blocks all transmissions."

She groaned. "Flying through that at warp, no wonder I crashed." She sighed.

"Your warp core and most of your systems are still offline, including life support. If you were to leave the planet now, you would die." He said.

"Good to know." She grunted.

"Sorry to disappoint." He said.

"They've probably located my trail by now." She mused. "They'll come to me. I just have to be patient."

She coughed again and Aishi grimaced. "You may not have that kind of time, Enterprise." He said.

She glared at him. "What do you suggest I do then?" She asked. "I can't leave."

"No but maybe I can rig some kind of transmitter using your deflector dish." He replied.

"What did you have in mind?" She asked.


	3. Chapter 3

Aishi tried to block out Enterprise's coughing as he worked on modifying her deflector dish. Despite his herbal remedies, Enterprise's condition just kept getting worse. She was coughing too much to do much of anything else, not even sleep. She could barely talk and when she did, her voice was raw.

"I am sorry." He murmured.

"For what? You haven't done anything wrong." She rasped.

"You're dying and I can do nothing but watch." He answered.

"You give me hope and at this point that is all I can ask for." She said.

"I still wish I could do more." He said. "I know." She murmured. Her head drooped as she hacked and sputtered. Aishi waited patiently for her to stop. "But more is beyond your capabilities." She continued. "You must accept that."

"And what? Let you die?" He growled.

"It may not come to that." She replied.

"The work you are doing now may bring rescue." He nodded.

"I will hang on for as long as I can. In the event I do not survive, you must radio Starfleet when they arrive and tell them what happened here." She ordered.

"You're not going to die." He growled.

"Aishi, promise me." Enterprise's tone of authority made him do a double take. The flagship's gaze was as hard as ever.

"I promise." He conceded and Enterprise closed her eyes.

Her sleep was interrupted by a series of nasty coughing fits. Aishi did what he could to help but his capabilities were limited. Enterprise wouldn't deny though his company helped her tremendously.

"Just you being here is enough to lift my spirits." She told him.

"If you're so ill why are you way out here? Why aren't you in a hospital or something?" He asked.

"I was, running away." She sighed.

"Not very becoming of a flagship." He said.

She chuckled. "My sister and I fought, I left to prevent further damage." She sighed. "I said some things to her..." She shook her head. "I don't know if I'll ever get the chance to say I'm sorry."

"I won't let you die. You will. I'll see to it." Aishi promised.

She smiled at him. "Thank you." She murmured.

"Rest Enterprise." He whispered, stroking her.

The starship purred, her blue eyes closing.

She was asleep in minutes, her wheezing eased somewhat as Aishi had her breathe in steam. She relaxed, a smile on her face as she stretched out.

"Sleep well." He whispered.


	4. Chapter 4

The trail ended abruptly at the metaphasic cloud. "If Enterprise went through that at warp she'd be lucky to survive." Galaxy said. "We don't have much of a choice but to go through. The trail did lead us here." Excelsior replied. Galaxy nodded and the two entered on impulse.

...

"Aishi!"

The man looked up from his work. "Again?" He asked.

Beginning during the night, Enterprise developed a stomach bug. No doubt caused by all her coughing. She spent the last 12 hours throwing up. Aishi shoved a pan under her muzzle and the starship puked noisily into it. Aishi noticed the more she threw up, the more severe her coughing became. A little investigating found the cause.

"The way you're designed means that anything you swallow goes through the same canals as your breath. Hence why you cannot breathe while you eat. When you throw up that bile comes up those same passageways. It's so acidic that its irritated them, hence your condition." He explained.

She groaned. "I've got far too big a head cavity for the rest of my body. Like a bulldog with its big flat nose." She coughed again, wheezing harshly each time she tried to take a breath.

"I'm sorry." Aishi said.

"For what?" She rasped.

"For not being able to heal you." He replied.

"As I said before. It's not your fault." She coughed again, though it was not as harsh as before. She was weakening. She rested her head on her makeshift pillow, eyes closing. "Continue your work." She murmured, her voice fading.

Lately, Enterprise had taken to sleeping more and more. Most likely because she was too weak to do much else. Aishi let her rest as he continued his work. Having been up for almost a day himself he found he was nodding off while working. He tried to stay awake and keep working until he couldn't stay awake any longer...

He wasn't sure how long he was out for. At least 8 hours. It was afternoon now. Enterprise was still unconscious, but something had changed. He could no longer hear her breathing. Not even so much as a wheeze.


	5. Chapter 5

As soon as Galaxy and Excelsior emerged from the cloud they detected Enterprise's warp trail again.

"Scan this system, see if we can locate her." Galaxy said.

"That's going to take at least 12 hours to complete." Excelsior warned.

"Then we better get started because something tells me we won't have 12 hours." Galaxy growled.

...

"Enterprise!" Aishi cried, rushing forward to her saucer. Had she died?

Desperately he pressed his fingers to her nostrils. For a few agonizing seconds, nothing. Then he felt the hot breath wash over his fingers and he sighed in relief. But she was not out of danger yet.

As she slept, her airways became more and more clogged and she was unable to clear them. Frantically, Aishi tried to recall everything he knew about a ships' anatomy. There were pressure points he could hit that would help if he could find them. He felt around until he recalled one being at the base of the neck. He pressed his fingers to that spot.

Enterprise convulsed as she coughed and hacked her lungs clear of the mucus clogging them. She paused but Aishi could still hear more in her wheeze. He pressed again and again Enterprise coughed up mouthfuls of blue gunk. She opened her eyes.

"Stay with me, Enterprise." Aishi growled. "Keep your head up and your airways clear. I'm almost done." He worked quickly to get the transmitter operational.

...

Excelsior halted as she heard the signal. "You hear that?" She asked Galaxy.

The larger ship paused, listening. "Long range signal, garbled but definitely Enterprise's. Audio only." She reported.

"Put it on." Excelsior ordered.

"...If anyone can hear me? This is Aishi of the Ba'ku tribe. I am on the ringed planet in this system. I have found the starship Enterprise. She needs immediate medical attention!"

He gave coordinates and Excelsior switched on her comm. "If you can hear me, this is USS Excelsior. Coordinates received. I am en route." She didn't wait for a response as she signed off and headed for that planet. "You coming?" She asked Galaxy.

She didn't need to ask twice. Galaxy was right beside her. They could only hope they were in time.


End file.
